Celebrate Our Forests
The Credit River Watershed is home to an incredible diversity of forests. There are over 80 forest types in the watershed, including deciduous (broadleaf), coniferous (needle-leaf), mixed forests, as well as moist valley bottom and dry upland forests.
Forests are not just spaces where we can pause, relax and enjoy the natural beauty around us, they provide important ecosystem services that sustain our lives and benefit our health and wellbeing.
Forests help to filter our air, absorb water, stabilize soil, store carbon and provide cooling benefits. Forests provide food and shelter for countless birds, insects and mammals. Together, they support the incredible biodiversity that makes our watershed thrive.
These benefits aren’t limited to wilderness. Trees growing in our neighbourhoods, parks, along streets and in backyards make up the urban forest. Each tree adds resilience by cooling streets in summer and creating green corridors that connect wildlife habitat across the watershed.
To celebrate this year’s National Forest Week, which takes place from September 21 to 27, here are five native tree species found in the watershed, each with a special story.
1. Eastern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis)
This evergreen is extremely long-lived. This species is common throughout the Credit River Watershed, especially in mixed forests along the Niagara Escarpment, Terra Cotta and Belfountain Conservation Area. Some of Ontario’s oldest cedars grow on cliff faces of the Niagara Escarpment and are over 1,000 years old.
2. Smooth Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis)
The smooth serviceberry is very adaptable: it can grow in sand, clay soils and loam, and in full sun, full shade and anything in between. In early spring, smooth serviceberry bursts with white blossoms that attract pollinators like queen bumble bees and butterflies. By early summer, its berries ripen and become an important food source for birds such as cedar waxwings, orioles and robins. It’s commonly seen in both rural and urban areas.
3. Cucumber Tree (Magnolia acuminata)
The cucumber tree is Canada’s only native magnolia, producing elegant yellow-green, bell-shaped flowers each spring. Cucumber trees grow unusual cucumber-shaped fruit that ripens from green to red but isn’t edible. It can grow up to 30 metres tall and is considered at risk in Ontario because of habitat loss.
4. Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera)
Paper birch is known for its striking white, peeling bark that glows golden in autumn before shedding its leaves. It provides food and shelter for many species, like caterpillars that feed on its leaves, while birds like chickadees and redpolls rely on its seeds in winter.
5. Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
The eastern white pine can tower over 30 metres tall and has long soft needles grouped in bundles of five. Its thick canopy offers nesting habitat for raptors like ospreys, bald eagles and great horned owls. White pine is prominent in forested areas along the Niagara Escarpment and in all our conservation areas.
Plant Trees with Us
Celebrate National Forest Week by planting trees and caring for forests with us.
- Join an upcoming tree planting event in your community.
- Plant a native tree in your yard through our free tree giveaway for eligible neighbourhoods.
- Sign up for our full-service tree and shrub planting services to grow a forest on your property.
- Improve your forest health with our sustainable forest management program.
Every tree planted helps to increase forest cover, fight climate change and add beauty to our communities.
Do you have a favourite tree? Share your photos with us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
By Kimberley Laird, Associate, Marketing and Communications